Sun 31st July: 35 out, 75 in

  As the two pugs, Snoopy and Snuffle, left to start their new life together, and puppy Jeremy was also picked up by his family, the new dogs arrived at North Street, Kennedy Town.  This time there were just three adults and the two puppies I've already written about, one without the use of his back legs (Hudson) and the other blind (Holly). 

The chihuahua boy, now Herbie, was picked up for fostering by one of our long-term supporters, volunteer and adopter of several chihuahuas, and he settled right in with his teeny family.  It's quite amazing to see videos of them all getting along so well. 

The Australian shepherd puppy has an interview on Monday, and hopefully he'll be going home afterwards.  This breed is supposed to be the smartest of all dogs, so its important that the home Harvey goes to is suitable (and this one is). 

Once again it was a quiet afternoon at Whiskers N Paws, but still it was a good experience for the Kennedy Town puppies to be out and about after the enforced quarantine period at the Homing Centre (due to kennel cough). Rodger So was this week's volunteer photographer Puppy Adoption Day 31st July 2022, so you can see how lovely the puppies are if you're interested in adopting one, or even better a pair. 

We still have so many puppies at both of our Kennedy Town locations, Brilliant Court and North Street, including the new "Ears Litter". 

Mopsy and McFly

I said yesterday that I was anxiously awaiting the total adoptions for July, as well as the number of dogs and puppies we took in, and here they are.  There were thirty five adoptions, and more than double that number arriving, seventy five in fact.  Now you can see why we needed to use our Elgin Street space, as well as North Street, to accommodate all of them, not to mention the large number of dogs that are now staying at our Tai Po Homing Centre.

Tai Po Homing Centre:

Finn (Multibreed)

Candy (Multibreed)

Yoshi (Multibreed)

Luna (Multibreed puppy)

Kennedy Town Homing Centre:

Odile (Multibreed puppy)

Holly (Multibreed)

Daphne (Multibreed puppy)

Haven (Poodle)

Hollis (Multibreed)

Google (Poodle Schnauzer cross)

Jolene (Terrier cross)

Jeremy (Multibreed puppy)

HKDR@Elgin:

Cora (Bedlington Terrier)

Curtis (Poodle cross)

Callie (Multibreed)

Chippy (Multibreed)

Cassidy (Multibreed)

Julius (Terrier cross)

Ap Lei Chau Red Dog Centre:

Snoopy (Pug)

Snuffle (Pug)

Whiskers N Paws:

Ozzie (Multibreed puppy)

Esme (Multibreed puppy)

Foster Home:

Trent (Multibreed puppy)

Olive (Multibreed puppy)

Kyra (Multibreed puppy)

Morgan (Multibreed)

Harry (Multibreed puppy)

Hannah (Multibreed puppy)

Loki (Husky)

Hera (Husky)

Johnny (Multibreed puppy)

Tom (Multibreed puppy)

Odie (Multibreed puppy)

James (Multibreed puppy)

Jacob (Multibreed puppy)

Our Forever Dogs:

Captain (Tai Po)

Costello (Tai Po)

Jimbo (Foster)

Rescued Dogs (Total: 75)

From AFCD: 16

From other sources: 59

Sat 30th July: Rounding up the month of July

Jolene is happy to be in a home

 Another month has flown by, and I'm always keen to hear from (Little) Eva how many dogs and puppies have found their homes, and how many we've taken in.  At least for this weekend I can confirm that Jolene was adopted from North Street, Kennedy Town, and puppy Esme from Whiskers N Paws, with the very funny and entertaining pug couple being picked up together first thing on Sunday.  More about that tomorrow. 

Esme has been staying at WNP

Puppy Jeremy who arrived as one of the "J" group is also going home on Sunday, so all of these will make the July list of the lucky ones.

Jeremy

 Please note from Jolene's adoption photo that the front of our North Street location has no proper signage yet, so we have temporarily placed small HKDR signs in the windows.  There is no large shop front as this is primarily going to be our office, even if we will always have some dogs staying there. 

This adorable puppy is unable to stand

The additional new dogs that were supposed to be coming today didn't turn up, and we're now expecting them on Sunday instead.  These are a young poodle, a senior chihuahua and a 7-month Australian shepherd puppy, as well as the paralysed puppy who's already booked in at Concordia.  There's also a blind puppy, and while that sounds awful, my previous born-blind blind dog, Roley, lived a perfectly normal life, even chasing and catching balls.  His ears and other senses completely compensated for his lack of eyesight, so much so that nobody ever believed me when I told them he couldn't see a thing.  

The new pug also came today,  four years old and currently staying at our Ap Lei Chau "Red Dog Centre".  I haven't come up with names for any of the new dogs yet, but remember we have recently-arrived dogs ready to go any time. 

Akita Gambit is ready for adoption

Once again, please complete the adoption questionnaire as a first step if you're interested in any of our dogs and puppies, giving as much information as you can.  The form is at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Sunday is Whiskers N Paws day of course, and this week we'll be sending some of our beautiful puppies from our Kennedy Town Homing Centre to try their luck, and to experience the fun of the big terrace (assuming the weather's not too hot). 

Fri 29th July: Still more newcomers

 Before sharing information about the new arrivals today, I would like to remind everyone that with the current high temperatures and very muggy weather, the chances of heatstroke in dogs (and people) is increased so please don't overdo the daytime walks, and stay in the shade as much as possible when you do go outside.  I know even indoors my air conditioners are fighting a losing battle with the intense heat, and outside both on Lamma and Tai Po we have solar powered fans trying to cool the dogs a little. 

Google heading home

Jenkins and Google were the two lucky dogs leaving our new North Street site today, although Jenkins has a short trial with the resident cat so I won't share his photo just yet.  Google, on the other hand, has landed himself a wonderful home and is already adored by his new family. 

There were only three new adult dogs today, small and medium, and they came with ten puppies (not related).  One of the adults is a very sad old lady, found in the trash according to the rescuers.  Yes, unfortunately people really do do such things, so we will try to help now-Meadow find the best possible home where she can spend her remaining years being treated like a princess. She'll need a complete health check and makeover, and we've already started the process with booking her in at Acorn.  The other two dogs are young, and small-medium in size.

The new puppies are two litters, and you can see why I called one set the "Ears Litter".  A strong gust of wind and these gorgeous babies will be flying like kites! 

The "Ears Litter"

The other four pups are much younger, and they'll be heading off to their respective foster homes on Saturday.

 Also on Saturday there will be still more dogs coming, a poodle, chihuahua and what we're told is an Australian shepherd.  We were also asked if we'd accept a gorgeous puppy (I know, they're all gorgeous) with a back injury meaning he (or she) can't walk, and the other one being blind.  I immediately asked Dr Elaine at Concordia if she could assess these two puppies, and see if anything could be done for the paralysed one.  

We were so happy with the successful surgery carried out by Dr Elaine on terrier Ilona, as it was really touch-and-go as to whether the leg would have to be amputated.  Look at Ilona walking now!  (and yes, she's available for adoption).

The conditions are very difficult at the Tai Po Homing Centre in this intense heat, and we urgently need volunteers to help with the cleaning and general duties.   Please send us a FB message or email Yannie at yannie@hongkongdogrescue.com if you can help!

Fri 29th July: Running here, there and everywhere

 I think the email situation is driving everyone crazy and  I'm really sorry for all of the blocked messages and bouncebacks, but at least enough are filtering through that I've been seeing the many enquiries about new boy Google.  It's going to be a relief to see him leave on Friday morning, which is what is supposed to be happening.

All of these are still puppies

However, just when we were getting things settled and sorted with this new group, I got the news of yet another large number of small dogs and puppies heading our way and due to turn up on Friday. At first I thought it was just a few dogs, because in my haste I hadn't expanded the message to show the complete text, and it was only just now that I checked and saw that there would also be ten puppies.  So now we're all on high alert and getting ready to receive, sort, check, and name all of them  

I have to mention again that when there are very cute, young and small dogs coming in, we also get a lot of adoption requests for them.  In many cases there are several suitable homes for the same dog, so then it's really a matter of who can come to take the dog (or puppy) home first.  It doesn't mean that one home is better than the others, it just means there's only one of that particular dog and we can't split them into pieces.   As in Google's case, he had so many offers of a home that I just hope that some of the others dogs can take his place instead.  

At the same time that we're dealing with the newcomers and everything else that happens on a daily basis, we're also in the process of moving the office from HKDR@Elgin over to the new North Street headquarters in Kennedy Town.  Just as we had to take over the downstairs of Elgin Street for new dogs that turned up, so too is North Street becoming the check-in location for incoming four-legged refugees rather than being the replacement Red Dog Centre (which for now remains in Ap Lei Chau).

It's become very clear that having several locations at the same time is a real headache in terms of staffing and having full time daily care for all of the dogs. We have a new recruit joining us at Elgin Street to run the store and training centre once the space has been cleared of all of the office equipment, and Kennedy Town Homing Centre Manager Iris is busy working out a roster of work places for everyone.  Being flexible is one of the requirements of working with dogs, because they only know that they need feeding and taking care of and have no idea that we are all running around after them making sure that all needs are met. 

Every day is so full and busy for all of the staff, so please be patient if you're waiting for a reply to an email, especially during this period when nothing seems to be functioning properly. We're doing the very best that we can.

I almost forgot to mention that we have another pug arriving, this time a direct surrender from a home, so this boy would suit those who have asked about the pair of pugs we're trying to keep together if possible.   

For all adoption enquiries please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/ and give as much detail as possible about your home and situation.  

Weds 27th July: The unexpected is quite normal now

 

In what has now become quite a normal turn of events, I received a message in the afternoon about some new dogs that were coming, and before I had even had time to think much further they turned up at our new North Street (Kennedy Town) site.   The timing was lucky in that we have homed most of the previous group that were temporarily housed at our HKDR@Elgin location, and who had only moved to North Street on Tuesday. 

The new arrivals are all older puppies, under a year old, with one five months old (Ginger), and they're now the "G" group.  As usual they're mixed breeds, except for one who's an akita inu, the small version of the larger akita.  Even so, Gambit is the largest of this intake being medium sized at 14 kilos. 

Taryn

With the Kennedy Town Homing Centre now fully re-opened after an outbreak of kennel cough, another one of the small dogs staying there was chosen, this time sweet Taryn.  I know for sure she would have been adopted long before today had it not been for our voluntary closure of the centre, but anyway, she has found a lovely home.

One thing I have noticed when we get a new group of dogs in is that there's always a huge amount of interest, even while we have similar dogs (like Taryn) already available.  The rush to adopt one of the latest intake can lead to impulsive decisions, or just adoption without really thinking things through, and we have had two adults and a puppy already returned from the last group.   In the eagerness not to miss out mistakes can be made, so while from our end we'll wait for the best home to come along, please also remember that not every dog is appropriate for every home, and with new dogs coming in on a regular basis it's worth waiting for the right size, coat-type, age and general suitability. 

We also still have many puppies in foster homes, both young and older, with of course our Tai Po Homing Centre full to bursting with so many lovely dogs, all desperately hoping that they'll be the next one to be chosen.  Many of these dogs are still older puppies, or only a year old, and that's only a matter of a few months difference from being a puppy.  It really just means you don't have to go through all the chewing, puppy biting and toilet training  that comes with adopting a baby, while you can still look forward to sharing a full life together.  

Here's the most recent list of puppies in foster care, and to meet any of them please contact Cindy at foster.hkdr@gmail.com to arrange:

Hong Kong Island

Charlie and Cressie (F) Chung Hom Kok

Roland (M) Pok Fu Lam

James (M) Mid-levels 

Taylor (F) and Tatum (F) @Mid-levels

Tatum (F) and Taylor (F) Sheung Wan

Tanya (F) and Tabitha (F) Kennedy Town

Tilly (F) Wan Chai 

Joanna (F) Wan Chai

Felli (F) Wan Chai

Freda (F) Wan Chai

Azaria (F) Happy Valley (Instagram  @zeldainthevalley )

Titan (M) and Tina (F) Happy Valley 

Zippy (M) North Point

Jude (M) Tai Tam

Kowloon and New Territories

Ottilie (F) Tsim Sha Tsui

June (F) and Josh (M)  Ho Man Tin

Joe (M) and Jack (M) Kowloon Tong

Trudy (F) Ma On Shan

Tues 26th July: All in a day's work

Pug puppies Snoopy and Snuffle at the Ap Lei Chau dog park

 Today was a perfect example of how crazy things can get, and often are, especially when you live in a place where the tides dictate when you can travel.  The day started when I found that one of my Lamma dogs was really not doing at all well, and I knew I had to get her back to ALCVC for more tests and hospitalisation.  I also had an RTHK Radio phone interview scheduled for 9.15am, so I had to make sure I was on the roof to take the call, the only place in the house with even half decent phone reception. 

Iris takes shiba Damson for a swim

Iris was due to come over, Tuesdays being the days that are  when she makes a regular visit to check on the small dogs and to take them out, so we arranged that we'd go over to Ap Lei Chau together with my dog, Imogen, when it was time.   I should mention that Imogen was already overheating, so it was important that she was kept as cool as possible for the boat ride, which meant taking ice packs to put next to her. 

The first thing that happened was that the sampan didn't turn up, and the second was that by then the tide was very low meaning we had to get over the rocks to a neighbour's floating pontoon, the only access point for a boat when the sea is so far out it doesn't reach the end of the pier.  While we waited for another sampan we had to stand Imogen in the sea to keep at least her feet cool, while I was trying to rearrange an appointment I had in Central. 

Our van driver Ming was waiting to pick us up to take us to ALCVC, along with the doberman puppy (now called Dylan) he'd just collected from AFCD, and who would be heading off to his foster home in the afternoon.  This dog is such a sweetheart, and when we finally arrived and I climbed into the back of the van with Imogen (also a big dog), the dobie kissed my face in greeting as though I was his best friend. 

Finally we were in air conditioning, Imogen was dropped off at the vet clinic and Ming drove me to Central before leaving the doberman at Elgin Street for his foster parent to pick up. (Dylan is already doing very well in his lovely holiday home). 

Julius was the last dog to be adopted from Elgin

Meanwhile Julius had been adopted, the last small dog to leave the temporary space we'd set up for the dogs that suddenly arrived in a big group, and the remaining few made the move to what will be our HKDR Headquarters at 13-19 North Street, Kennedy Town. 

Another small dog, Hollis,  was also adopted from our Kennedy Town Homing Centre, where we still have a few small adults waiting, and lots of puppies.  You can see photos at hkdr_eagle (as well as lovely photos of the pug puppies). 

Jolene, Jeremy, Jenkins and Celeste at North Street

Hollis was staying at our Kennedy Town Homing Centre

Mon 25th July: Moving out, and moving in

Cassidy (in arms) has a built-in friend

 It's going to be another very rushed post today as I have many things that need to be done, but I do want to mention that on Tuesday the remaining small dogs will be vacating the Elgin Street location and moving to the new HKDR Headquarters in Kennedy Town. This is where the office will be based, as well as our new mailing address and donation drop-off point, along with additional space for dogs and puppies.  These were supposed to be our "Red Dogs", but since we have an overload at the moment those "Red" dogs will be staying at 21 Ap Lei Chau Main Street, while the newish arrivals will be the first tenants of North Street. 

The full address of the new space is Shop 4, G/F, Cheong Yue Mansion, 13-19 North Street, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong, and it's about a five minute walk from the Homing Centre at 4 Brilliant Court.

Jilly, Chippy and Cassidy were the three lucky dogs today, and at this point I do need to apologise for the awful mess of our current email situation, and the fact that many messages are bouncing back.  It's as frustrating for us as it is for those trying to make contact, which is why for now we're using our Gmail aliases rather than the hongkongdogrescue.com versions. 

I also want to mention that we have had so many enquiries about these small dogs, which is obviously wonderful, but it's been a challenge trying to keep up with all of the incoming questionnaires and the replies.  Obviously if we have a choice we will always opt for the homes that we feel can offer the best life for the dogs, including space, environment, companionship and exercise.  That means that there are inevitably those that are going to be disappointed and I'm really sorry about that, but the happiness of the dogs must always come first.  Cassidy, Jilly and Chippy (shown in the video being welcomed by the resident dog) have all gone to homes where they will have a dog friend to play with, as well as lots of human companionship. 

On Tuesday we'll be taking in the Doberman puppy that was another of the smuggled puppies who had to undergo the necessary four month quarantine for all animals arriving from China.  This lovely boy will be staying in a wonderful foster home until he finds a suitable forever family, and I'm sure he's going to think he's gone to heaven. 

Sun 24th July: Happy adoptions-to-come

I love Ottilie's serious frown

 Before anything else I want to share the lovely (as always) photos of the Whiskers N Paws Puppy Party, taken by our long-term volunteer photographer Jimmy Tsang  Puppy Adoption Day 24th July 2022.  We kept the number of puppies low due to the heat and it was a quiet two hours as expected, however we know that this is almost always the case these days and that adoptions tend to follow on from initial Sunday meetings.

Luna has a full family now

The puppies who either came to Whiskers N Paws for the afternoon, or who are staying there as full time resident guests, are slightly older than the youngsters at our Kennedy Town Homing Centre.  Happily though, there were three older puppies whose dream of a home came true, one being Luna, whose permanent status was confirmed today.  Luna had started with us as a baby puppy, then moved to Tai Po as she outgrew her foster home, and now she is a fully-fledged family member.

Another adoption that we're all so excited about is a double one, that of sisters Demi and Dulcie whose story you may have been following on Instagram @why_i_foster.  Normally puppies from this foster home never reach the age that Demi and Dulcie have, but this being summer and a very slow time for everyone, the two girls have been enjoying their life at home and the beach, never knowing that they could be separated at any time.  As it happens this will now never happen, because they will be leaving together and going to a wonderful new home very soon.  In the meantime you can continue to see the daily posts and watch how much fun puppies can have when they have a best friend to share it with.

The pug boys are 8 months old 

This is why we really want to try to keep the two pug boys together, as their story is rather special and their bond really quite strong.   What could be better than watching these two little rascals finally having the freedom to run and play, and to have toys and everything else a puppy should have. 

There are three more adoptions to mention, but again they're taking place within the next day or so.  These are young adults Julius and Cassidy from HKDR@Elgin, and puppy James from his foster home.  Photos will obviously follow when they have been taken. 

As a reminder, we will be shutting up shop this week downstairs at 22 Elgin Street when the dogs move to our new office and headquarters at North Street, Kennedy Town, a five minute walk from our Kennedy Town Homing Centre.  We hope the volunteers who have been helping out with the dogs will continue to do so once we have made the move, and thank you to everyone for having made this rather crazy time even possible.   Once the dogs have moved out we can revert to our original plan of using HKDR@Elgin as a store selling merchandise, and a training centre for dogs and their unruly humans. 

Sat 23rd July: What a day!

Poodle Haven was adopted from Kennedy Town

 We had so many enquiries about the smaller dogs currently staying at our HKDR@Elgin location, and almost as many potential adopters coming to meet them, but in the end no dog was actually taken home.  In fact one dog that I had posted yesterday as being adopted was brought back after someone in the family turned out to be allergic, so all in all it was an incredibly frustrating Saturday, even if we were all very busy replying to emails or meeting visitors.  

One thing I would like to ask is that if you're not able to adopt immediately, please wait before coming to meet the dogs.  Hopefully any dog that you like will already be in a home by the time you're able to adopt one yourself, and it takes up valuable time introducing potential dog candidates. 

I also need to mention that the HKDR@Elgin dogs will be moving to our new location in Kennedy Town next week, about a five minute walk from the Kennedy Town Homing Centre in Brilliant Court.  I'll be sharing the full address once we're installed, and this space will also serve as our office and drop-off point for donations.  All volunteers who are currently helping at Elgin Street will be welcome to continue once we move the dogs, and thank you all for your help over the past couple of weeks. 

Away from Elgin Street there were two adoptions, one being poodle Haven at our Kennedy Town Homing Centre, and the other puppy Odie, chosen from his foster home.   Please remember there are still lots of puppies in foster homes, including the group of small-medium ones that came with the adults now staying at HKDR@Elgin.  To meet any of these puppies please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/ and then our Foster Coordinator Cindy can arrange a meeting. 

We also have the 8 month-old pug puppies staying in the small Centre in Ap Lei Chau, and again please complete the adoption questionnaire if interested. Ideally we're hoping that the two boys can stay together, but it's not a deal-breaker if they can't and the home is as good as we want.

Some of the older foster puppies will be at Whiskers N Paws on Sunday, 2pm to 4pm, so you can meet them in person, but we're keeping the numbers low at the moment because of the heat.  

Here are the available puppies and their locations, with links to photos:

HKDR Kennedy Town Homing Centre - Shop 4, G/F, Brilliant Court, Sai Hong Lane, 28 Praya, Kennedy Town

Edgar (M) and Evan (M)

Clio (F) and Cole (M)

Molly (F)

Poppy (F)

Kyle (M), Kai (M) and Kenny (M) 

Dawn (F), Darwin (M), Daphne (F) and Duke (M) 

Alan (M) and Aria (F) 

Indie (F), Inez (F), Ike (M) and Impi (M)

Faye (M)

Whiskers N Paws - 10/F Horizon Plaza, Ap Lei Chau 

Drummond (M) and Drake (M)

Esme (F)

HKDR@Elgin - 22 Elgin Street, Soho, Central

Jeremy (M)

Hong Kong Island

Charlie and Cressie (F) Chung Hom Kok

Roland (M) Pok Fu Lam

James (M) Mid-levels 

Taylor (F) and Tatum (F) @Mid-levels

Tatum (F) and Taylor (F) Sheung Wan

Tanya (F) and Tabitha (F) Kennedy Town

Tilly (F) Wan Chai 

Joanna (F) Wan Chai

Felli (F) Wan Chai

Freda (F) Wan Chai

Azaria (F) Happy Valley (Instagram  @zeldainthevalley )

Titan (M) and Tina (F) Happy Valley 

Zippy (M) North Point

Jude (M) Tai Tam

Kowloon and New Territories

Ottilie (F) Tsim Sha Tsui

June (F) and Josh (M)  Ho Man Tin

Joe (M) and Jack (M) Kowloon Tong

Dulcie (F) and Demi (F) Sai Kung (Instagram  @why_i_foster )

Trudy (F) Ma On Shan